What is a Lean Enterprise? Taiichi Ohno, the founder of the Toyota Production System, defined it this way: “All we are doing is looking at the time line from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing that time by removing the non-value-added wastes” (Ohno 1988). This is a simple and efficient explanation of a complex system and culture.
A lean enterprise applies TPS principles to all aspects of its business.
Customer Focus – Only the customer can define the value of our product or service. All else is waste.
Eliminate Waste – Waste is anything that the customer does not need and will not pay for. All employees must be empowered to eliminate waste.
Improve Flow – Small amounts of product or service moving quickly according to customer demand. Customers will pay for time.
Quality “Built-in” to Processes – Make it right, instead of inspecting later
Respect for People – Develop your people and your partners.
Continuous Improvement – No amount of improvement is ever enough.